Alone
by foulcat
Summary: After the war with Gaea, Percy is left alone when Annabeth dies. The prophecy is completed, and he has too much time to dwell on his emotions. Will he keep them bottled up until it kills him, or will he find help where he least expects it?
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note: Hello! Some of you may have been directed here by my other story, ****_Betrayed._**** If not, then welcome! This story will be another Pertemis. Idk why, but I just enjoy writing about them. Anyway, here goes nothing!**

Annabeth POV

I fought along with my mother, each of us battling Enceladus, born to oppose Athena. We were doing okay, and the others of the seven were fighting the giants too. The Greeks and Romans had been brought together by Reyna, Nico and Coach Hedge when they got the Athena Parthenos back to camp in time. Now, they had been transported here by the Party Ponies, who were also fighting. I sprinted up Enceladus's arm, slashing quickly with my drakon bone sword. I reached his shoulder, and cut his ear off.

"Hey!" he cried indignantly. Athena turned into a massive owl and flew up to his face. She raked her claws through his eyes, and they popped out. I almost threw up, but I managed to hold it in. I jumped up onto his head, and with a shout, drove my sword into his skull. He stilled momentarily, before Athena threw a spear into his chest, and he vaporized on the spot. I turned to help the others, but they were all finishing up their battles. Finally, the giants had been defeated. My blood had been spilled on the earth, but Percy's hadn't yet. Gaea was still asleep. The army of monsters quickly retreated, running into the hills, screaming in terror. I found Percy and hugged him, gave hi ma kiss despite the heavy nosebleed he had. We stayed that way in each others' arms until suddenly Piper cried out

"Percy, look out!" I looked at him to see what she was talking about, and noticed too late. The blood from his nose had run down the side of his face, onto his chin, and fallen. I watched it plummet, and time seemed to slow. I tried to intercept it, but it hit the ground and a massive earthquake knocked everyone off their feet. The gods panicked and teleported away, all except Artemis who stayed with her hunters. A massive fist shashed out of the ground, followed by another one. Demigods and Party Ponies scrambled back. The hands landed on the rim of the hole, and Gaea puleld herself out of the ground. She stared at us all, with unblinking eyes of marble.

_Finally, the blood of the greatest hero of all time has been spilled! I awake! And, to fulfill my promise Percy Jackson, I will start my rule by destroying your precious home!_

Blood roared in my ears, and I sprinted towards her, my sword in my hand. Percy called out behind me, but I ignored him. I couldn't let anyone get hurt. Never again would someone suffer because of my lack of courage. I leaped up onto Gaea's foot, which was easily as tall as I was. I climbed higher, using the cracks in her earthen skin as footholds. Before she could register what I was doing, I was on her shoulder. I climbed up onto her head, and stabbed down, cleaving the stone in two. Instead of her being fatally wounded like I'd hoped, she simply willed the earth to rise up and heal her. When it reached me, it pulled my down to her hand, which closed around me.

_You shall never escape the earth, for all things must fall eventually._

She began to squeeze, and I almost blacked out. The pain was worse than holding the sky, worse than Tartarus. I barely registered the seven of the prophecy screaming in rage and running forward to help, followed by the other demigods of the two camps, and the Party Ponies. Gaea bellowed in rage, and kicked up several campers. But there were too many of them. I saw the Argo II in the sky, Leo and Hephaestus aiming some kind of contraption at Gaea. Then, they fired it, and It fell down over her. A massive, Celestial Bronze net tangled Gaea up, and it seemed to sew itself shut. Gaea gripped me harder, and I heard several bones snap, and the pain grew to an almost unbearable level. I was surprised that I hadn't passed out yet, but I knew that I would leave today with permanent injuries, if I left at all. The Argo II began to pull Gaea up into the sky, and held her there while she thrashed around wildly. She stared straight at Percy in pure rage.

_If my waking ends before I gain rule, then I keep my promise to you. I will take the thing you care about most._

Percy realized what that meant at the same time I did, before Gaea threw me down from her position in the sky, and I slammed into the earth, and passed out. I didn't dream, but my unconsciousness seemed to last shorter than expected. When I woke, Percy was kneeling on fron of me, crying. I reached out, ignoring the pain in my arm, and gripped his hand weakly. I registered the Argo II in the background, now with a net full of flaming gravel. Gaea was gone, dispersed as thinly as her husband Ouranus. But that didn't matter to me. All that mattered was that Percy was with me.

"You are _not _dying on me, Annabeth! Please don't do it!" I could hear the pure desperation and fear in his voice, but I could also hear the love his words carried. I tried to smile, and managed a weak one. I tried to respond, but only coughed up blood. Percy leaned down and hugged me, crying into my shoulder. I felt myself beginning to float upward, my consciousness like a helium balloon. With my final breath, I whispered into his ear

"I love you Percy."

And then, my setting changed. I felt whispy, and ghostlike. I looked down and gasped. I was a ghost! I looked back up and realized with a start where I was. Charon regarded me coldly from his desk.

"I take it you didn't drown in a bathtub this time?"

"No sir, I did not. I died when Gaea threw me into the earth and broke all my bones."

"Ah... for your bravery, I think I'll let you have a free ride across. Hades wouldn't want a hero of Olympus to stay on the wrong side of the river." He got up, grabbed his elevator key, and led me to the doors. As I passed, the shades stopped what they were doing and watched. Then, one bowed. Then another, and soon they were all bowing on the ground. I felt tears in my ghost-eyes, at the thought of these people I never even knew paying respect. I got into the elevator, and the music played softly. Charon sensed that I wasn't in the mood to talk, so we rode in silence, the steady downward motion changing into a rocking. I blinked, and we were on a boat, floating down the river Styx. Erebus approached in the gloom, and the judging pavilion lay before it. Charon got off the boat with me, and led me through the line, cutting ahead of all the shades. The judges of the dead stared down at me blankly, except Minos looked at me coldly. No one said a word, as they looked through my memories. Finally, one spoke.

"You have done the world a great deed, and you should not go without reward. You may choose whatever you want to do in the afterlife, and Hades will allow it." I thought for a moment, and nodded in thanks. I quickly left the dining pavilion, and walked towards Erebus. Out of the gloom, I saw three massive heads, attached to one giant body. Cerberus looked up gloomily, then back down. Then, he did a double-take when he realized who I was. Instead of running up to me, he whimpered in sadness, but reached into the crook of one of his necks. My eyes watered and tears began to flow freely down my face as he brought out a tattered, beaten, used flap of rubber. It was mostly coated in dust, but I saw traces of red here and there.

"Hello Cerberus. I told you I'd come back."


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note: sorry for not updating yesterday, I was busy. Anyway, hopefully this chapter makes up for it. :P**

Percy POV

I watched Annabeth fall to earth, watched Gaea throw the love of my life into the ground with a horrible crunch. I heard all sound fade into nothingness, my vision tinted black, grey, green, blue- every single color I could think of. I screamed in rage, but heard nothing. I walked to Gaea, wanting to run but my body controlled itself. She watched me in contempt, and thrashed around in her net some more. I walked up to it until I stood directly underneath it. I felt pressure building, gaining more and more until the pain in my gut was several times larger than what I felt at Mount St. Helens. I raised Riptide above me, and unleashed it all. My vision went completely, but after the battle some people told me what had happened. They said I jumped up, straight through Gaea's body, cleaving it in two. When I fell, just before I would have hit her surface, I slashed Riptide so many times in such quick succession that my body's impact shattered her. They told me that I had been glowing multiple colors, and the gods explained that their blessings had been given to me- all twelve of them. I didn't care about the blessings, or Gaea.

I picked my way over to Annabeth, the glow fading from my vision and I could see again. I found her body, mangled against the rocks. All her limbs were bent the wrong way. I saw her eyes open, and I met them with mine.

"You are _not_ dying on me, Annabeth! Please, don't do it!" I watched her eyes meet mine, her love in them pouring through me. I watched the girl I loved, the girl I'd always loved, from when I first met her, say her final words.

"I love you Percy." I watched her eyes change, watched her leave them. I watched their once bright color turn sour. I watched the girl I wanted to spend the rest of my life with die. I cried. I wept harder than I'd ever before. All of the pain I'd ever been in through the years, all the suffering, bitterness and misery I'd ever been exposed to left me in one massive tidal wave. I pounded a rock with my fist so hard it crumbled into gravel. I hugged Annabeth close, held her limp body in my arms. I closed my eyes, hoping to open them and see her alive and well. But when I did, nothing had changed. I realized how much she'd changed me, how big a part of me she'd been. While my curse from the Styx may have left, she had always been my anchor. Even before I became invulnerable, she'd tied me to the world. Now that she was gone, I didn't know what to do. She was my light through the dark, and now the battery was dead. I kept crying, my tears soaking my shirt and hers as well. Finally, after what felt like hours, I felt someone's hand on my shoulder. I turned angrily to see Poseidon, looking down at me sadly.

"My son, I cannot ever understand what you're going through right now. But if you ever need someone to be there for you, all you must do is ask, and I will help." All I could do was nod weakly. I looked at the rest of the gods, who had mixed expressions on their faces, and I then made the mistake of looking at the fates. I remembered the prophecy of seven, and the oath to keep with a final breath. I remembered my first demigod quest, with Annabeth and Grover. I remembered the dog Cerberus, and the red rubber ball. And I remembered Annabeth's promise to return to him, to come back and play with him. Her oath to Cerberus had been kept, but cost her.

Artemis POV

I watched Perseus cry into the shoulder of Annabeth. I was no goddess of love, but even _I _could feel his love for her, feel the pain he was in right now. I was tempted to comfort him, but I resisted. That would only lead to trouble. I stayed where I was, but Poseidon walked towards his son. I couldn't hear what they said, but Percy nodded, tears still flowing from his eyes. He looked at all of us, and he looked at the fates standing a couple yards to my left. He only looked briefly, but I saw something pass through his eyes: understanding. He somehow figured out what had happened, even if I and the other gods still didn't know how the prophecy had completed yet. But he knew, and I doubted he would tell any of us. One by one, the gods started flashing out of the ruins until only I was left, along with all the campers, Party Ponies, hunters, and the sev- no, _six_ heroes of the prophecy. I looked at them all, saw the pain at the loss of their comrades, and decided to help them return home. I used all of my willpower, and imagined them all standing in camp Half-Blood. They vanished in a huge flash of silver, and I teleported to Olympus, ready to begin my search for hunters to fill the ranks of the dead.

Artemis POV, three years later

"Olympians, we have gathered here to discuss an urgent matter. The heroes of the prophecy of seven have all been rewarded, including Annabeth Chase's spirit in the underworld. But Percy Jackson has continued to evade us. Our searches grow futile, and Apollo has not seen him in any visions. I suggest we send out our best trackers. Artemis, take your hunters and yourself to look for Percy. Apollo, if you see anything in the future or from the sun chariot, you tell us. Ares, Hephaestus, Dionysus and Hermes- you all search for him as well. Some of you may not like him particularly, but no one here can deny he has done us all a great service. go out and find him, and when you do, summon us to Olympus to discuss what we shall do with him." Zeus said after summoning the twelve Olympians. I nodded in agreement, it had been far too long since the son of Poseidon had been seen. The god of the seas himself looked depressed, and the oceans had reflected his mood for the past few years. Zeus droned on and on about how we should all search for him with our best efforts, and I began to think about the demigod.

Perseus had served everyone around him for all his life, only wanting to see others happy. He'd done so much in his life, yet asked for nothing in return. He'd changed the mythological world so much that it was likely he would become a god. He was smart, loyal, selfless, caring, funny, and I have to admit, not bad looking. For a while I'd admired him but only until he'd recently been brought up in conversation did I realize just how handsome he was. I immediately scolded myself for thinking these thoughts. I was a maiden goddess, not some teenage girl who obsessed over the latest model. I payed attention to the end of Zeus's speech, and zapped myself to my hunters' camp to tell them we had a new target.

**Author's note: sorry if this chapter seems a little short, hopefully it made upt for the missing one last night. Anyway, hope to hear from you all, tell me if I messed anything up. :P**

**-foulcat**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey, Happy Halloween! So yeah, here**

Percy POV

I lit my arm on fire and blasted the hellhound away from the shaking girl. She was a couple years younger than me, maybe fifteen. She had long dark hair, caramel skin and eyes that seemed to change colors. I knew she was a daughter of Venus or Aphrodite, but I didn't know which.

"Are you alright?" I asked, reaching for her hand to help her up.

"No! What was that thing? And how did you do that... fire thing?" she said, her voice shaking almost as badly as she was.

"That was a hellhound, and the fire thing is something a friend of mine gave me. You and I are called demigods, half human, half god. I suspect that your mom is Aphrodite. Do _do_ know about Greek and Roman myths, right?" If she didn't then it would be a long night. Thankfully, she nodded.

"By the way, what's your name? Mine's Percy Jackson."

"Silena Herring." she replied. I remembered another daughter of Aphrodite I'd once known, also named Silena.

"My dad always made sure I knew about them. I don't know why, he just drilled it into my head that they were important. But you say that I'm half god. Does that mean my mom was a goddess?" I nodded, and explained about how they still came down to earth and had children with mortals. I showed her my SPQR tattoo, with the trident of Neptune on it. I explained the Greek and Roman camps, and how I'd been to both.

"My dad always told me their Greek names, so I'm assuming I'm part Greek, not Roman, correct?" she asked. I nodded, and led her out of the forest I'd found her in. We were near a highway, and cars passed us in the cool, night air. I looked up to see so many stars, I thought I was hallucinating. We might have been near a highway, but there was little pollution here. She looked up as well, not seeing what I did.

"What are you looking at? Is Olympus up there?" she asked. I shook my head gently.

"No, Olympus is on top of the Empire State building in Manhattan. I'm looking at a former friend. You know about Artemis's hunters, right? She was the lieutenant of that group, until her father Atlas killed her several years ago. She was one of the bravest people I knew..." I trailed off, thinking about Zoe. It had been a long time since her death, and I never really got over it. She'd known all along that she would die if she went on the quest, yet she'd gone anyway. I sighed, and brought my gaze back down to earth.

"I have a way we can get you to camp, but once we arrive, I have to leave. Do you trust me?" I held out my hand, preparing for ember-travel. Hestia had become my patron after I'd run away from the gods, from the camps, from my past. She was the only one who knew where I was, and she'd promised not to tell anyone.

"Yes, I trust you." she replied, taking my hand. I willed us to turn to ash and smoke and embers, and traveled at speeds rivaling Hermes to Camp Half-Blood. It wasn't technically teleportation, but it was so fast that the trip only took half a second. When we arrived, she stumbled but I caught her arm and straightened her.

"Okay, if anyone asks how you got here, please don't mention me. Alright?" I told her.

"Why not? Are you enemies with them? I thought you used to go here." I sighed.

"It's a long story, which You'll probably hear anyway. If they ask how you got here, say that you ran away from home and felt compelled to come here, okay?" She nodded, and I sent her through the border of the camp. I saw Peleus the dragon look up at the new arrival, then he looked at me. I saw his eyes widen, but I put a finger to my lips and he seemed to nod his head. I dissolved into embers, and teleported back to the woods of Canada where I'd been before. When I got there however, I froze. I saw a group of girls walking about a hundred feet in front of me, wearing silver jackets. I knew who they were, and why they were here. The hunters of Artemis had come to find me. I quietly took a step back and paused.

Why was I running from these people? They were my friends, people who I loved. But if I had to be near them, I would be reminded of Annabeth. I scolded myself mentally for even thinking about her. Up ahead, one of the dogs barked. Soon, the others joined, and they were all staring at me. Some of the hunters turned and saw me on my knees in the snow, crying at the memory of Annabeth. They didn't know who I was yet, but they quickly turned around and headed towards me at a sprint. When they arrived, I made no move to stop them. Artemis stepped forward.

"Stranger, remove your hood, so we may identify you." I didn't have much choice, so I reached up slowly to remove it. I pulled it down, revealing my face, and Artemis gasped.

"Perseus?" she managed, and I nodded. Thalia stepped forward from behind her.

"Percy? Where have you been? Everyone at camp has been worried about you!" I sighed.

"I have been hiding. I don't want to go back to either camp. They remind me too much of Annabeth. Even you all being here does that. I don't want to be negative about this, but every time I return to camp, even if briefly, it brings back memories." Thalia looked at me sadly.

"Percy, Annabeth is happy in the underworld. She gets to play with Cerberus whenever she wants, and spends time with Daedalus designing cool things. I've talked to her, and she's seen you moving around. She wants you to move on Percy. You have your whole life ahead of you, don't spend it alone." I wanted to listen to her words, wanted to believe that I could be happy again someday. But they washed right over me.

"Thalia, there isn't much you can say or do that will change my mind." She was about to respond, when Artemis stepped forward.

"This is not why we are here. While I know you are heartbroken, and I can understand that, we have a job to do. The gods request you on Olympus. We feel guilty about neglecting you for all you've done for us in the past. The war with Kronos, the war with Gaea- you have gone without reward for far too long. I have been sent to find you and bring you to Olympus, where you will be presented with your reward." I sighed.

"I guess I don't have much say in this, do I? Fine, take me to Olympus." Artemis began to glow silver, and when the aura died down enough to see, we were in the throne room. Artemis shot an arrow through the open roof of the hall, and thunder boomed throughout the world. Flashes of light appeared on each throne, before solidifying into a god or goddess. The hunters went to stand by Artemis in her throne, and the last god entered. I stood awkwardly in the center of the room.

"Percy Jackson, we have sought you out to reward you for your efforts in the war with Gaea. We offer you one gift, anything that we have the power to do. With certain restrictions of course, due to the ancient laws, but there are few of those. Now, give us your request." I thought of what I wanted most, more than anything in the world, but she couldn't be brought back. She had a happy afterlife, doing what she'd always wanted to do. Who was I to take her from that? I tried to think of something that I might want, but I couldn't. I sighed, and simply said

"I wish to become a god. Not because of its benefits, but because there is no better option." Zeus sighed with relief, as did several other gods. He began to chant, as did the others, and soon a golden trail of light began flowing from each of them and into me. At first I felt nothing, but then I felt a slight tingling in my arms and legs. It wasn't uncomfortable, but it was unusual. after a while, the light died down and I felt power surge through my limbs. I looked at the other gods expectantly.

"Well, what am I the god of?"

"Weapons, Pegasi, and hope. You are the embodiment of the spirit of hope, for you managed to hold onto Elpis in the titan war. Also, your other domains will make you a master at any weapon, and you will command all pegasi." Zeus said.

"What about Pegasus, the immortal lord of winged horses?" I asked. Zeus looked at the ground.

"He is... fading. We don't understand why, but it seems that he's lived his life out. He tried to find a pegasus worthy of replacing him, but unfortunately none could be found. He wants to... he's gone." Zeus said, and I thought I saw a tear trickle down his face. While he might be big and scary, Pegasus had never harmed anyone.

"Well, now that I'm the god of Pegasi, that means I could pick someone to replace him, correct?" Zeus nodded slowly. I whistled loudly, and after a minute Balckjack flew into the palace of the gods.

_This better be good, I was sleeping._

"Alright Blackjack, well if you don't want to be the immortal lord of pegasi in place of a newly faded god, then by all means, go get Guido. He'd do well." At this, Blackjack's eyes widened.

_Oh, you want me to become Pegasus? Like... THE Pegasus?_

"Well, that's the idea. He faded, so you will take his place. You'll be the fastest, and strongest, and all that jazz." I told him.

_And who's going to give me this position? _I smiled, and said

"I am. I'm the god of pegasi, who else would?"

**Not the best chapter ending, but honestly who cares. Oh wait, you guys do. Anyway, have a good weekend, I'll keep updating. Leave any suggestions in the reviews, and yeah**

**-foulcat**


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: Sorry about missing the last couple nights. Minor spoiler from the Blood of Olympus, not too big, but I would advise not reading the part in bold. Anyway, on to the story!**

Percy POV

I immortalized him, and muttered a blessing in ancient Greek, and he glowed briefly before whinnying like he'd eaten a truckload of sugar cubes.

_Holy horse feed, that was awesome!_ I smiled at his childish behavior. I turned back to the gods, and Zeus looked to be in deep thought. The other gods kept looking at each other, and their expressions were constantly changing, so I assumed that they were having a mental discussion. I decided to join in and listen to what they were saying.

_"...think we should give him our blessings. We all heard the fates, he's destined to take the throne! We will want him on our good side, and a powerful leader would be good too."_ said a voice that sounded like Athena.

_"For the last time, no! He is not taking my throne, not now, not ever."_ Zeus said.

_"We could take a vote. All in favor of giving Percy our collective blessings?" _Dionysus chirped. I watched Aphrodite, Athena, Poseidon, Hermes, Apollo, Dionysus, Demeter, Artemis, Hera, Hephaestus, and to my surprise, Ares, raise their hands. Zeus looked like he was going to explode, but he managed to keep it in.

_"Very well, we will give the boy our blessings. I must admit, he has proven himself, and I would like to see what the fates give him as well."_ Zeus grumbled.

"Perseus, you-" he began, but I interrupted.

"I heard the whole thing. Sure, go ahead. Also, I heard you guys talking about someone taking a throne... I don't want it, so you don't have to worry." I said, and Zeus let out a huge sigh.

"Thank the gods..." he muttered.

"You're welcome." said Apollo, who gave Hermes a fist bump. The rest of the gods just rolled their eyes, and Zeus held his hands up.

"Alright, everyone, give him your permanent blessing." The gods began to chant in some strange language, older than Greek, and beams of light shot out of them and into me. It tingled slightly, but didn't hurt. Then, when the light died down, the fates appeared. They said nothing, but raised their arms, and a black feather appeared in the air. It flew straight into my chest before I could react, and I felt a searing pain in my back. Something felt like it was trying to escape from between my shoulderblades, and I collapsed to one knee. Suddenly, I heard a ripping sound, and felt blood begin to pour down my back. But I also felt something... different. It felt as if I had a new set of arms attached to my back, but they were quite short. I tensed, then pushed with these new limbs, and they extended out several feet. My shirt was torn off my body, but I could care less. The gods looked at me shocked, while the fates gave me sly smiles, and vanished. I willed my new limbs around to my front where I could see them, and I almost had a seizure.

I had two black wings on my back, with a wingspan of eighteen feet. I experimentally flapped, and rose into the air about five feet. I landed, and said

"Woah. I take it this doesn't happen often?" Zeus shook his head, and Apollo said

"Not since Zephyros. Lucky..." I quickly snapped my fingers, and a black t-shirt appeared on my body, along with a hoodie.

"How did you do that?" Athena said. I glanced at Hestia before saying

"My patron gave me some new powers." Zeus looked angrily at Hestia.

"And I suppose you've known where he was all this time?" Hestia nodded, and Zeus just sighed. Hera was looking at me strangely, like she wanted to hate me more, but couldn't. Athena was studying my wings as if she wanted to build herself a paid, and needed to know how they worked. Artemis was looking at me with an unreadable expression, but her eyes deceived her. Aphrodite was staring hungrily at my chest, even though it was covered now. The male gods were just sitting in their thrones, looking bored, except for my dad who looked proud.

"Can I go now? Everyone is looking at me oddly, and I want to test out the powers I have." I requested, and Zeus just waved a hand and said

"Council dismissed."

Line Break

"SLOW DOWN, BLACKJACK!" I shouted as he burst through the sky. I let him give me a ride back to camp to test his new powers, and it felt even faster than my own flying.

_Sorry boss, this is awesome!_ I sighed, and tried to get a better grip on him. Soon, I saw the camp approaching in the distance, and my blood turned cold. I still wasn't ready to see everyone there, they would remind me of Annabeth too much. I ordered Blackjack to slow down using my pegasi powers, and jumped off his back. We flew around together, talking.

"Sorry Blackjack, not ready to see those people yet. Don't tell any of them though. Don't even mention me. You can tell the other pegasi though, they can't talk."

_Alright boss, whatever you say. But promise to visit sometimes, okay? It got lonely without you._

"I'll visit whenever I can. I gotta go now, so I'll see you next time." I finished, and watched Blackjack drop down into camp, ready to brag to the other pegasi about his new title. I laughed under my breath, and soared out of the camp airspace, off to who knows where.

Several hours later, I landed in a secluded spot in a forest, somewhere in California. I realized how close I was to Camp Jupiter, and decided I'd pay Reyna, Jason, Piper, Frank and Hazel a visit. They hadn't seen me in three years, and I needed to catch up with them. I drank a bottle of water, and then unfurled my wings once more. I then started at a run, and flew up into the air, escaping the forest and soaring towards Camp Jupiter. It took about half an hour to get there, but when I did I gasped. (**SPOILER ALERT!) The city was almost twice as large, with hundreds of new temples and fountains. I saw that Jason had kept his promise to Kymopoleia, and gotten all the minor gods temples as well. (End Spoiler.)**

I flew into the camp, and heard a horn blow. I saw legionnaires strapping armor onto themselves, and Roman Eagles began to circle me, but not attack. I saw Frank and Reyna, wearing their praetor cloaks, marching in front of the assembled cohorts. I landed on the ground, and watched them approach.

"Stranger, state your name and business!" Frank said, authority in his voice. I then realized I still had my hood up, and quickly pulled it down.

"Sorry about that. Probably should've just worn a t-shirt or something." I joked, and everyone's jaws dropped.

"Percy?" Reyna whispered, and I nodded. After their initial shock, Frank, Hazel and Reyna started smiling and laughing. I saw Piper in the crowd, but not Jason. Perhaps he was on a quest, or taking a nap. Then again, for demigods, both are equally stressful. The romans lowered their weapons, and Reyna told them all to go back to what they were doing. When they all left, it was just Hazel, Frank, Reyna, Piper and I.

"Where's Jason?" I asked, and the happy looks on their faces fell instantly. "Oh gods... is he alright?" I asked them, and they shook their heads. Piper looked as if she'd break down at any moment.

"Percy, Jason died last year." Reyna said softly, and I felt tears of my own welling up in my eyes. He'd been like a brother to me, annoying most of the time, but still a brother.

"How did he die?" I asked nervously, for I feared the answer.

"Medusa killed him. The gods found out that she was alive again, so they sent him to kill her. But as he was about to decapitate her... he looked into her eyes. We have his statue if you'd like to see it." Frank said sadly. I nodded, and they led me into the city. Finally, we arrived at a large open area, similar to the forum. I saw statues everywhere, gods, heroes, but in the middle of them all, sat six statues made of gold, and one of stone.

I walked to them, as if in a trance, and carefully put my hand on her face. It was Annabeth's statue, so detailed that I thought she might have joined Rachel in one of her art projects where they painted themselves gold. It hurt to see her so lifelike, yet cold and metallic. I looked at the other statues. They were arranged so that Annabeth, Frank, Hazel, Piper and Leo were standing side by side, while Jason and I were jumping up behind them. My face looked angry, yet determined, anticipating a battle. I looked at Jason's and froze. I'd expected fear in his eyes, because if I'd looked at Medusa, I'd have wet my pants. But he looked even more determined than I did. His sword was pointed outward, ready to slice through monsters.

I realized I'd fallen to my knees, and shakily stood. It hurt to see my best friend turned to stone. I felt a hand on my shoulder, and looked up to see Frank. He was the last person I'd expected to see comforting someone, but here he was. He and I had both experienced death, both had seen our friends lives tossed away. I sent a _thanks_ with my eyes, and he nodded.

We walked through New Rome after that, trying to carry normal conversations. Several people stared at my wings, but I ignored them.

"So Percy, how did you get wings?" Reyna asked. I laughed and said

"Well, after the hunters found me in Canada, Artemis took me to Olympus where they rewarded me for the giant war."

"So you asked for wings? Not bad, man." Frank said. I shook my head at him before saying

"No, these were just an added bonus. There was nothing else to ask for, so I requested godhood. They made me the god of weapons, pegasi, and hope. Then, they gave me their blessings, os I gotta try out the new powers. The fates appeared, and gave me wings. But if you ever get the chance, don't ask for them. It hurts like hell when they sprout out of your back." I said. The others laughed, and we continued to talk. Eventually, the sun was setting, and they all had duties to go to, so I said goodbye, promising not to go too far, and to answer their Iris messages. I snapped my wings out and flew up into the air. I circled three times around camp, before deciding something I never thought I'd do. I decided to visit my old friends at Camp Half-Blood.

**Author's note: Sorry about missing pretty much an entire week. I understand how aggravating it is to read incomplete fanfiction, and to be left hanging. Anyway, leave suggestions or other comments in the reviews, and yeah.**

**-foulcat**


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